<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=529113&amp;fmt=gif">
LOG IN Contact Us

5 Critical Marketing Questions Financial Advisors Must Ask Themselves

By ClientWise | October 14, 2014


As of 2013, the number of registered financial advisor representatives with a FINRA-member firm was roughly 700,000. With this number steadily increasing year after year, your marketing strategies must do the same. Research proves that 86% of advisors do not have distinct and/or consistent marketing and client acquisition strategies.  As a financial advisor, progression is key when it comes to marketing, but relying on the same tactics and strategies you've used for previous years will not give you an advantage, nor will it keep you differentiated among your competition.


For a variety of reasons, advisors find themselves spinning their wheels when it comes to creating marketing material that truly engages their clients. This isn’t because they aren’t putting in enough effort, quite the contrary. It’s because they aren’t asking the right questions. Are you?  Have you asked the following about your marketing?


Is your marketing valuable from the perspective of your client?
It’s important to remember that the knowledge you have about what you do doesn’t necessarily match that of your clients’. Take this into account and be straightforward, yet specific, in describing what you offer your clients. Run these offerings past those clients who appreciate your services but might not be the most knowledgeable about their finances. What are their reactions to it? Where do they think you could be more or less explicit in articulating what you offer?


Do you really understand what you’re providing the client?
Take the above exercise a step further. Consider how the value you provide clients plays out in their day-to-day lives now as well as in the future. What comfort does it bring them in addition to the financial expertise you offer? Perhaps it’s a value based on the accountability you provide, or the relationship they have with you? How do your best clients perceive the value you provide and is this articulated in your marketing to potential future clients?


Have you developed a unique value proposition?
According to our latest study, as much as 72% of financial advisors do not have clearly articulated value propositions. Once you have spoken with your clients and you understand what you really provide, and to what segment of the market you provide it, get this down in writing and use it to craft a clear and informative pitch.


Is your marketing consistent?
 In addition to being clear, your marketing should be similar across all the channels you use, and clearly relate your unique value proposition. Is the messaging you provide on your website consistent with your newsletter and blog? Does it reflect how you present yourself at business events and in other networking opportunities? This is as much for you as it is for your clients; keep the marketing process simple by being repetitive. You will spend less time recreating the wheel, and your clients will really start to absorb the value of what you do. Our latest studies shows that financial advisory teams who consistently build upon their personal brand and identity, indicate average assets per team member are almost 60% greater than those who do not!


Are you leveraging what’s available to you?
One of the best marketing strategies we’ve seen advisors use, is finding great content by other financial services industry professionals that supports the necessity of their professions or, even more specifically, their unique take on their profession, and sharing it with their clients. Whether in the form of books, whitepapers, or blogs, this tactic does three things: 1) It validates your approach by showing it’s relevance in the marketplace; 2) It proves your own confidence in your business because it illustrates that you are comfortable enough to share the work of others with clients and potential clients; and 3) It prevents you from constantly having to create content of your own.


Financial Advisor Marketing

 

Topics: Client Acquisition Client Engagement Marketing & Communication

Leave a Comment